Objective Objectifying

Thursday, October 26, 2017

Objective Objectifying

The time I wore a stripe wrap skirt and shared my thoughts on self-objectification.

There was a time when I engaged purely on writing in this space. Pictures, I sourced from other sites because all I wanted to do was write. And let words spill out in the way words do when they are read.

The blog was initially intended for readers with a strong affinity for reading and can take my ramble-prone writing style.

In 2016, I took on a journey to change the landscape of this blog populating it with imagery that was my own. I wasn’t that comfortable with it at first. I still do at times. The old body-image can rear its devilish head but at the same time, I must admit I found a freedom in the imagery as it allowed me to experience something new.

This activity made me appreciate the time spent in nature, finding little nooks and crannies that also made me realize I have mad love for abandoned spots. And most importantly, it opened a space for a mom-and-daughter mini adventure type of activity that got us to bond over fashion and clothing.

With every post I created, I saw myself through images which gave me an overall look from a third-party perspective.


As I was experiencing adult hormonal acne at the time, seeing my face zoomed in was something else. Even as I experienced low confidence, I felt a rekindling of a compassionate self-acceptance. No matter how my skin looked, I made a decision to love myself. Instead of looking for outside approval, I stood by my side.

During this transformative period, I playfully referred to my personal blogging session – the self-objectification of ‘me’ and in a way it was but also beyond.

In this space, there’s so little of me and yet so much of the words and digital prints strive to make me ‘known’. I accept the limitations from the very beginning as there is no way anyone can perceive anyone in their entire human expression through the digital barrier. Though it is one of the most effective tools to reach out and touch hearts across lands and oceans, it is but a very small way of fully knowing the essence of a person.


While being an avid reader makes me perceptive over word and sentence usage when I read blogs of others and allow insights about them but carefully constructed words and polished imagery have their built-in constraints. Similarly, the visual imagery here is a fun way of showing bits and bobs of my ‘self’ and that ‘self’ is far beyond what can be expressed here.

I’m especially moved when readers actually take the time to read the words typed no matter how rambly I get. The photos are a way for me to objectively objectify myself in how I would like to portray the visual content of the moment. It is a form of conscious self-objectification.


There’s a lot of topics centering on self-objectification that touch on the side where individuals derive a sense of identity from their images and get obsessed with perfecting that imagery. Self-objectification can have that impact when one is identified.

The word that's missing is IMBALANCE.

We are human beings with bodies that carry a world of expressions. We cannot avoid looking at ourselves in the mirror. We cannot avoid the world of forms. We are part of it. Being aware of this, we have the freedom to appreciate our own physicality as well as others and also sense that we are also formless.

The imbalance comes in when one is lost in the world of forms and see everything through the constricting lens of imagery. Chronically identifying with thoughts too, which are mental objects (to quote Eckhart Tolle) is a way of being lost in objectification, which can lead to suffering.

Only you know what is of balance to you (when you are brutally honest with yourself). Women’s bodies are fuel for debates gnawed by both genders for ages but in the context of one person's experience, which is boundless, what one woman is comfortable with wearing (at the moment) may not be for you.

I love keeping my body fit as I can sense lightness in my being. I also found out that by correcting my posture, I’ve given my body (and spirit) a level of energy that it lacked before. I appreciate how I look (and feel) in the mirror when I take good care of myself and dress according to the style that I'm currently into (and I accept this can change).

As I go through life, this form will inevitably age but what’s formless which is the beingness underlying this person called 'me' shall remain. It’s good to keep the body healthy because health is wealth (it is true!).


Remember that your body will decay in time, just to keep your self-objectification in perspective. In fact, your hair is dead! #HalloweenTrueStory

So please, while you're able, take care of your body, appreciate and tend to it. You may want to snap a photo or twenty to post on your favorite social media of choice or/and develop them into physical photos to paste on the wall for further appreciation and a balanced self-objectification and that is your bloody right.

What do you think about self-objectification? What does it mean to you when you think about it? I want to know your raw thoughts so come on, share away!

Here's a quote to end this entry by Marcus Aurelius who was came into existence in the year 0121 and then perished in the year 0180:

“Observe always that everything is the result of change, and get used to thinking that there is nothing Nature loves so well as to change existing forms and make new ones like them.”


shanaz@RS | 1:28 AM | Labels: /

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